Dragons Blood-VIRGIN

The palm vines that bear these resinous fruits grow abundantly and are used extensively in the traditional cottage industry of Rattan & wicker furniture. This dark red resin is used in local and Traditional medicine as a dye and pigment and is the main ingredient in the Dragon's Blood Balls of commerce.

Not only does this resin perform equally as well as the Socotra/Medieval Dragon's Blood resin as an incense, but it also dissolves better in oils, makes an equally stunning ink, is completely sustainable, and costs less than the Socotra Dragon's Blood resin. So, if you were looking for a sustainable alternative to the medieval Dragon's Blood resin, you just found it!

Each pound of this resin is scraped from thousands of ripe Dragon's Blood tree berries and is the core material from which Dragon's Blood Balls are produced.

Most Dragon's Blood Balls on the market contain very little of this deeply coloured resin and are adulterated with the much cheaper and clear-coloured Dammar resin. This allows sellers to make a better profit by offering a cheaper product that claims to be the real deal. However, this also means that most consumers are ripped off by paying steep prices for adulterated material since they do not know what to look for.

While high-quality Dragon's Blood balls used in traditional medicine often have a stamp of purity, these stamps are easy to forge and duplicate.

DRAGON'S BLOOD RESIN-DAEMONOROPS DRACO BLUME-JAVA/SUMATRA

Dragon's Blood resin from Indonesia (Java, Sumatra, Malaysia etc.) starts its journey in deep jungle cottage workshops as a fine, deeply coloured powder collected from the skins of the Dragon's Blood fruit. (See photos above). The thin layer of resin is removed from the skin of the ripe fruit by tumbling the berries in a large metal tumbler that also contains seashells which abrade the berries.
Once the fine powder is separated from the berries, it falls through the small holes in the barrel and accumulates on the floor.

This pure resin is bagged and sent to the city to be blended with the much cheaper Dammar resin and processed into the Dragon's Blood balls of commerce. Unfortunately, due to the high cost of this pure resin powder, unscrupulous producers adulterate many of these balls with up to 90% Dammar resin.

This resin powder is not only a pure and highly concentrated product, it is completely sustainable and fairly traded. This is the only sustainable, and pure type of Dragon's Blood resin on the market since Socotra Dragon's Blood tears are collected from a threatened species.

HOW TO ASCERTAIN THE QUALITY OF YOUR DRAGON'S BLOOD Balls. (Indonesian)

1-When the material is fractured, it will be a dull, deep red matt texture if little Dammar is added. Dammar resin creates a sheen to the fractured surfaces, while the Dragon's Blood resin is matt with no shine. The more Dammar added the shinier the ball's surface and the fracture.

2- The material's colour gets lighter and lighter, pinker and pinker as more Dammar is mixed in.
Ideally, one should seek material that is a deep, dark red colour that fractures with a matt/eggshell finish and a non-reflective sheen.

Possessing the pure resin powder before it has been blended with anything else is, in my opinion, the only way to know that your Dragon's Blood resin is authentic and pure.

There are approximately 25 species of the rattan vine-Daemonorops in Southeast Asia/Indonesia. 5 species yield a red resin from the outer layer of their fruit that is used locally as medicine, incense and a dyeing material.

Dragon's Blood Indonesia has many of the same compounds found in Socotra Dragon's Blood and is used traditionally for many of the same purposes.
In alcohol, it creates an intense red dye similar but a bit brighter than the Socotra Dragon's Blood. I use a ratio of 1 part powder to 8 parts alcohol @ 95% when preparing a Dragons Blood ink.
This resin dissolves to a great degree in warm oils, which is convenient for producing medicated oils, salves and cremes, and anointing and ceremonial oils. It is traditionally used as an astringent and wound healer in Sumatra.

It has an intense yet delicate and delightful aroma on the coal or burner.
It blends easily with other incense powders and will lend its deep red colour wherever it is used.
Produced by a co-op workshop in Java (Sumatra), this product is sustainably harvested and fairly traded.

DAEMONOROPS DESCRIPTION-
Dragon's Blood Indonesia is the resin collected from several species of the Rattan palm of Indonesia. Its leaves are used in basketry and the sturdy core is used for furniture making.
The berries of Daemonorops Draco are coated with a thin layer of red resin. When the ripe berries are abraded or boiled, the resin can be separated and collected. (See photos above).
Rarely found in its pure form, the brunt of the resin collected from the berries is shipped to the big cities where it is heated and mixed with other cheaper resins to create the Dragon's blood "balls" of commerce.

This method of resin collection is sustainable and causes no harm to the trees or the environment.

Armed with wicked, needle-sharp spines, the Latin name of Daemonorops means Evil Spirit shrub. Though the name may be attributed to the nastiness of the plant's defences, some believe that spirits and energetic beings find a haven in the safety of these spines as they do in brambles, thickets, hedgerows and other environments that keep humans at a safe distance.

The fragrance of this type of Dragons Blood is a bit different than the Socotra resin. Though it creates an intense smoke on the charcoal, it is not as penetrating or sharp. It is usually blended with other aromatic materials. A little bit goes a long way.
In common with Socotra Dragons Blood, this resin has no scent until it is heated or burned.

As one might assume, Dragon's Blood resin is associated with the fiery and passionate energy of the planet Mars. It is often used to boost, intensify and add persuasion to one's magical intent and operations.

Dan

Materials: Daemonorops Draco, Java Dragons Blood, Dragons Blood Virgin.